Name of camp: Ravensbruck
Location of Camp:
Located alongside Lake Schwedt, about 50 miles north of Berlin.
Brief description of the Camp:
It was a concentration camp for women. The women did hard labor or were part of medical
experiments. The prisoners were mostly German, Jewish, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Gypsies, Poles,
Russians, and Ukrainians. The prisoners were organized into categories, each with a distinctive
color-coded triangle to denote nationality. A high wall with electrified barbed wire enclosed the
women in the camp. Beginning in 1942, medical experiments were performed on the inmates;
some women were infected with gas gangrene, while others were forced to receive bone transplants and amputations.
How many people were imprisoned at the Camp? How many people perished at the Camp?
It is said that about 106,000 women passed through the camp during its existence. There were 34
satellite camps that many women were sent to. Approximately 50,000 perished by slave labor, harsh
living conditions, and by the gas chamber.
What were the dates that the Camp was in existence?
May 15, 1939 - April 30, 1945.
When was the Camp liberated?
The camp was liberated on April 29th and 30th, 1945.
Who liberated the Camp?
The Soviets liberated the camp and found approximately 3,500 very ill prisoners there.
Other interesting facts: • Count Folke Bernadotte, vice president of the Swedish Red Cross, convinced Himmler to
allow the International Red Cross to rescue some prisoners from Ravensbrück and other
camps and bring them to Sweden. The Swedish Red Cross was first allowed to rescue
Scandinavians on March 5, 1945, followed by women from France, Poland and the Benelux
countries.